Combining Catholic social teaching, feminist and African liberation theology, and the social sciences, Joseph Loïc Mben, SJ, develops a contextual gendered African Christian social ethic that addresses the oppression and marginalization of working women in Sub-Saharan Africa. He focuses primarily on African women from working and poor classes living in either urban or rural settings, particularly in Cameroon, and thus shows the necessity of inflecting Catholic social teaching along the differential of gender.
One of the strongest heritages of the Reformation for Christianity was to return to the central role given to the Bible, translated in local dialects. Christianity expanded thanks to the translation of the Bible in vernacular languages worldwide. Most importantly, the people who had been victims of prejudices of race supremacy could now have access to God in their own language, culture, and idioms without intermediaries. It is largely thanks to Bible translations that the majority of those churches in Africa, born of European mission activities, continued to develop positively after the end of the colonial age, and that independent African churches emerged. (Series: Theology in the Public Square / Theologie in der Ã?Â?ffentlichkeit, Vol. 10) [Subject: African Studies, Christian Studies]
The book "Emerging from Aborted Liberations for a Free and United Africa" is a translation of the French work "Sortir des libérations avortées pour une Afrique libre et unie" by Joseph Habamahirwe. It is a careful and thoughtful analysis of the many problems that the African continent and its peoples are still facing after more than 50 years of independence from direct colonial rule. It is a work of liberation theology and the author has been particularly influenced by the late African Sociologist and theologian Jean-Marc Ela.
Featuring essays from a broad range of contributors this book is a treasure for anyone interested in theological reflection from an African perspective and is a necessary resource for theologians and scholars working in a church that is steadily moving its center to the Global South.
This collection of essays was written to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Second General Conference of Latin American Bishops, which convened at Medellín, Colombia, in 1968. Inspired by the Second Vatican Council and seeking to implement its vision, the bishops viewed the occasion as a decisive one for Latin America, which they saw as standing 'on the threshold of a new epoch in the history of our continent'. It appears to have been a time full of zeal for emancipation, of liberation from every form of servitude, of personal maturity and of collective integration. Forty years later, however, it is appropriate to remember the event and to review the significance of liberation theology in light of all that has happened during the intervening period. The colloquium at the Milltown Institute, Dublin, which led to this book, sought to do precisely that: to establish where liberation theology now stands by questioning whether it really is a significant theological and ecclesial movement or merely a moment whose time has passed, and to investigate its enduring legacy.
Doing theology Under the Palaver Tree, in honor of one of Africa's foremost theologians, Elochukwu E. Uzukwu, is a momentous undertaking, which draws from the diverse African continent, her various peoples and rich natural resources. A down-to-earth God-talk that evokes the reign of God among us, the book is a theological treasure trove. The quality, depth, and range of the conversation partners in this volume represent a high-water mark of the best scholarship in Africa today on ecclesiology and the future of the African church and the world church. The authors, through dialoguing with multidisciplinary dimensions of theological thoughts, offer new language with which to engage foundational issues in theology, liturgical practices, communion and community, leadership and charism, the relationship between the local and universal church, and social engagement and cultural questions as well. In exploring the depth of this tome, with its methodological approaches in interpreting, understanding, and evaluating the changing faces of Christianity, scholars and theologians will be challenged to reflect on some of the most pressing current questions and issues facing the church in Africa and the world, in rebirthing the image of the people of God, and a synodal church under the iconic and symbolic African palaver tree.
This volume reflects on a credible and a new language of Christian mission in Africa. The author’s thoughts and approaches not only provide a missiological insight which contribute to the repertoire of expanding fresh ideas in the missiological studies but also serves the purpose of highlighting the active participation of Africans in the missionary mandate of Jesus Christ. In other words, the scope of missiology needs a contextualized interpretation. Thus, he proposes a proactive language for missiology in Africa thereby underlining Africans as normal and full members of the human family. In the light of the Vatican II mission theology, the new language should be based on the fact that Africans will grow and do better in admiration and not in sympathy. Interestingly, the arguments in this volume opens the space for the on-going discussions in the mission of the church in the era of secularization and post-modernity. Consequently, a new language for missiology in Africa will come from the retrieval and modernization of our African cultural matrix pursued from the point of view of the daily struggles of the Africans themselves for survival which also addresses Africans in the spirit of cooperation.
This comprehensive reference volume covers every country in Sub-Saharan Africa, offering reliable demographic information and original interpretative essays by indigenous scholars and practitioners. It maps patterns of growth and decline, assesses major traditions and movements, analyses key themes and examines current trends. Key Features: Profiles of Christianity in every country in Sub-Saharan Africa including clearly presented statistical and demographic information; Analyses of leading features and current trends written by indigenous scholars; Essays examining each of the major Christian traditions (Anglicans, Independents, Orthodox, Protestants, Roman Catholics, Evangelicals, Pentecostals/ Charismatics); Essays exploring key themes such as faith and culture, worship and spirituality, theology, social and political engagement, mission and evangelism, religious freedom, inter-faith relations, slavery, anthropology of evil, and migration.
